Comparison

Astrospheric vs Airly

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Astrospheric

This app offers advanced weather forecasting and astronomical data for stargazers and astrophotographers. It provides detailed hourly forecasts, cloud and sky transparency reports, and alerts for celestial events. It also includes tools for astronomical societies and offline site setup.

Highlights
  • 84-hour hourly weather forecast
  • Ensemble cloud forecast
  • Kp index for Aurora
  • ISS flyover paths
  • Integrated smoke forecast
  • Sky and ground data
  • Rise and set times
  • Solar and Lunar eclipse data
Features
Read full description

Astrospheric provides advanced weather tools for professional astronomers and astrophotographers, and supports hundreds of astronomical societies with tools that help members stay connected. Are you using what the pros use? Features • 84 hour, hour-by-hour forecast • Free notification reminders for major astronomical events • Ensemble cloud forecast lets you quickly compare the major forecast models with hourly updates (Astrospheric Pro) • Extended cloud forecast • Kp index for Aurora viewing (and alerts with Pro) • International Space Station (ISS) flyover paths and times • Astrospheric is the only astronomy service that integrates the smoke forecast into the transparency report • Sky data: cloud, sky transparency, seeing • Ground data: wind, temperature, and humidity • Precise rise and set times for both the sun and moon • Get weather alerts when conditions meeting your requirements are met (Astrospheric Pro) • Details Solar and Lunar eclipse data Astronomical Societies • Stay connected with chat, image sharing, and event planning with all of your members. • Qualifying astronomical societies can get Pro features for all of their members Site Mode • Information necessary to quickly set up your GOTO tracking mount • Available even if you don’t have a network connection Astrospheric Professional is now available to enable Weather Alerts, Ensemble cloud forecast, and more! • Astrospheric Professional is billed monthly or yearly and will auto-renew unless turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current subscription period. The renewal cost will be the same as the initial sign-up cost of the subscription. Any changes in cost will be communicated before renewal takes place. • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscriptions may be managed by you and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the your Account Settings after purchase. A link to these settings is made available within Astrospheric "My Profile" for easy access. • The terms of use and privacy policy may be found at https://www.astrospheric.com/privacypolicy.php, purchasing a subscription shows agreement to these terms. PLEASE NOTE: Weather data is not available for Hawaii due to the domain area covered by the Canadian Meteorological Center. However, satellite and light pollution map layers, as well as other features will work in Hawaii. More information on Astrospherics forecast domain can be found here: https://www.astrospheric.com/dynamiccontent/datadomain.html

About

Airly

Monitor real-time air quality in your location with a vast sensor network. Get reliable pollution data, forecasts, and notifications about exceeded standards. Plan your activities based on the air you breathe.

Highlights
  • Real-time air quality monitoring
  • Largest sensor network in Poland
  • WHO standard compliance
  • Next-day air quality forecast
  • Push notifications for pollution alerts
  • Home and work place sensor favorites
  • Widgets for quick access
Features
Read full description

Airly - Breathe consciously! Airly gives you the ability to check the real-time air quality in your current location. Thanks to the largest network of sensors in Poland, the app presents reliable data on air pollution in a transparent and intuitive way, including data and calculations of exceeded standards in accordance with the latest guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO). Check what air you are breathing and plan activities for the next day thanks to the unique and only forecast in Poland that predicts the air quality for the next day with 96% efficiency. The Airly app allows you to: - air quality monitoring with 40 000 sensors and official stations located around the world, - real-time controlling of measurements: PM1, PM2.5, PM10, gases, temperature, pressure, air humidity and wind strength and direction, - adding sensors in locations important to the user to Favorites, in order to find important places like home or work place faster, - receiving "push" notifications about exceeded air pollution standards in accordance with the user's preferences, - quick access to information thanks to widgets to be installed on the phone. According to the WHO, 99% of the world's population breathes polluted air and 2.4 billion people are exposed to dangerous levels of household air pollution. Air pollution causes 7 million people to die prematurely every year due to exposure to pollution. Air quality is a topic that is worth being interested in and monitoring the level of pollution in the place of residence. Download the Airly app and check what you breathe! Follow us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/airlyorg/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/airlyorg/ Contact Us: https://airly.org/pl/contact/

Screenshots

Astrospheric4 screens
Airly4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Airly at none against Astrospheric's 2. Astrospheric's advantage is review sentiment (88% vs 60%) and chart position (#99 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Astrospheric sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Airly asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Astrospheric against 4.7 for Airly. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 453 and 415 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Astrospheric's written reviews are positive against 60% of Airly's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Astrospheric ships an update every 3 weeks, Airly every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Astrospheric versus Airly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAstrosphericAirly
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (453 ratings) — better4.7 (415 ratings)
Positive reviews87.7% of reviews — better60.0% of reviews
Number of ratings453 — better415
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
Best chart rank#99 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.1 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaniel FiordalisAirly

Customer experience

Astrospheric

All ratings453 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral1.5%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews146 reviews
Positive87.7%
Neutral4.8%
Negative7.5%

Airly

All ratings415 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral4.6%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews105 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral14.3%
Negative25.7%

User reviews

Astrospheric

From 453 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Precision tool for astrophotography
  • 🔍 Detailed weather forecasts
  • ⭐ Accurate and reliable
  • 💻 Comprehensive data and features
  • 📊 Helpful for planning observing sessions

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional inaccurate forecasts
  • 🔍 Missing some weather data (e.g. wind)
  • 💰 Subscription required for full functionality
  • 🔌 Compatibility issues on some devices

Airly

From 415 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 😊 Great way to track air quality
  • 👍 Useful for knowing pollution levels
  • 👍 Works well in specific locations (Poland)
  • 👍 Great UI/UX
  • 👍 Easy to use and clear

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Widget shows incorrect/no sensor data
  • 🐛 Location requirements are unclear/excessive
  • 🐛 Map quality is poor in portrait mode
  • 🐛 Lacks Spanish language support
  • 🐛 No indication of data update time

Bugs and requests

Astrospheric

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashing or not loading on some devices
  • Inconsistent temperature and wind data

Requested features

4 requests
  • Notification system for clear skies
  • Widgets for quick access to data
  • More detailed transparency and seeing data
  • Ability to flip east and west in the app

Airly

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Complications on Apple Watch not showing AQI
  • Widget provides no indication or incorrect data
  • App requires location sharing always, even when zip code can be used for widgets
  • Cannot find location
  • Broken widget
Show 4 more
  • No sensors for Moldova
  • Widget shows no data if no sensors within 3km
  • Notifications not received after last update
  • In-app notification settings are ignored

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add Apple Watch complications for AQI
  • Allow widget to show nearest sensor data
  • Add Spanish language support
  • Indicate data update time
  • Allow viewing historical data beyond 2 days
Show 5 more
  • Show hourly temperature
  • Improve graphs with more information
  • Add more active sensors
  • Fix notification settings to respect user preferences
  • Improve map quality and landscape support

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Astrospheric

Subscriptions2
  • Astrospheric Pro Subscription7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Astrospheric Pro Subscription7 Days trial$29.991 Year
None

Airly

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Astrospheric free?
Astrospheric is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Airly free?
Airly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Astrospheric or Airly?
Astrospheric is rated higher. Astrospheric averages 4.8 out of 5 from 453 ratings, while Airly averages 4.7 from 415 ratings.
Do Astrospheric or Airly have ads?
Neither Astrospheric nor Airly shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Astrospheric or Airly?
Astrospheric ships an update every 3 weeks, and Airly every 5 weeks. Most recently, Astrospheric was updated on September 23, 2026 and Airly on September 21, 2026.

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